The Zone Elite Performance Center is in line to open in a former bowling alley in Tecumseh.

The preliminary site plan was approved Tuesday by the Tecumseh Planning Commission for the former Airport Bowl, 828 N. Evans St. The action is the next step in renovating the building to house the fitness center.

The former bowling alley at the corner of North Evans Street and Macon Highway closed in 2010. Troy Wright of Tecumseh bought the property following a foreclosure process and plans to move Curves for Women, currently in the Tecumseh Plaza on West Chicago Boulevard, and to reopen the convenience store on the north side of the building. His wife, Nicki, runs the Curves for Women facility.

On a unanimous vote Tuesday, the planning commission approved the preliminary site plan and the rezoning of the property from single family residential to general business with conditions. The building measures 12,887 square feet.

Troy Wright said he hopes to have the facility open in November. In the application, Wright said plans call for a workout facility with a cardio room, but the center will be more than just a workout facility.

"We will be relocating our Tecumseh Curves to the newly remodeled building along with an indoor turf facility that will focus on baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer," Wright wrote in an email. "We also plan on having camps, clinics and individual training for children of all ages."

Wright, a city councilman, said plans call for the old convenience store on the north side of the building to be reopened. If all the needed licenses are secured, the store would sell beer, necessitating a liquor license. Access to the site will be available off Macon Highway and North Evans Street.

"It is not our intent to make this a bar. However, to comply with the liquor license, we must be able to serve it on site," Wright wrote in the application. "This will also be advantageous for small fundraisers and special events."

The preliminary site plan approval carried several provisions with it. Traffic flow of the parking lot would be changed to one way, and asphalt would be removed from the north side of the property, eliminating parking along Macon Highway. In addition, a walking path would be created with more green space and landscaping on the property.

The sale of the former bowling alley was approved on Jan. 28 by Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Margaret M.S. Noe. The bowling facility and convenience store were initially listed for sale at a price of $200,000 after a receiver was appointed nearly two years ago to manage the foreclosed business.